An OBI truck arrives on the pier with 10 pallets of clothes for children in orphanages in South America. The pallets were loaded on to the USS George Washington and will be distributed by the Navy.

NORFOLK, Va. – Aircraft carriers, fighter jets and top secret security clearance are no stranger to the largest military base in the world – Naval Station Norfolk.

When the 75 ships and 134 aircraft based at the Naval Station are not at sea, they are alongside one of the 14 piers or inside one of the 11 aircraft hangars for repair, refit or training.

Enter one Operation Blessing tractor trailer filled with pallets of clothes, however, and a new mission is born.

OBI has teamed up with U.S. Navy's Project Hand Clasp, a para-military organization, to reach out to orphans in South America. Project Hand Clasp accepts and transports educational and humanitarian materials overseas on a space-available basis via various U.S.. Navy ships.

Materials are then distributed directly to recipients by U.S. service personnel stationed overseas or embarked on tours.

Tucked away among the 97,000 tons of other materials loaded onboard The George Washington naval ship, also home to some 6,250 crew members, are 10 pallets of winter clothes donated from OBI.

The pallets will be on board the ship, which is as high as a 24-story building, until it reaches the coast of South America.

"We are excited about all the organizations who donate to Project Hand Clasp that allow us to do community relation projects throughout the world," said Lt. Cmdr. and Chaplin, Jim Edwards. "We are especially excited about our upcoming projects in South America."

Through Project Hand Clasp and in coordination with the Navy, the 10 pallets of clothes will be distributed to area orphanages in South America by service members stationed on the USS George Washington.

"We are working in coordination with Project Hand Clasp and the U.S. Navy to get these supplies to the children in need," said Scott Hill, international relief manager for OBI.

"We are working in coordination with Project Hand Clasp and the U.S. Navy to get these supplies to the children in need," said Scott Hill, international relief manager for OBI. "These orphans are in desperate need of these types of clothes."

With the help of Project Hand Clasp, the Navy delivers humanitarians relief items throughout Central and South America, Africa along the Indian Ocean littoral, the Pacific and the new emerging democratic nations of Eastern Europe.

"OBI is always trying to figure out creative ways of getting product from those who have it to those who are in need," Hill said. "We are excited to be a part of this project."

HOW YOU CAN HELP
Operation Blessing's Orphan's Priomise program is helping to transform the futures of children like these by providing clean water, education assistance, nutritional feeding programs, medical care and more. Please make an online contribution toward OBI's Orphan's Promise today and help us continue to reach those in need.

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